Ultionis Est Dulcis
by mtranc3
Summary: In which Harry learns the value of precise potion brewing the hard way. Literally.


**Title:** Ultionis Est Dulcis  
**Author:** mtranc3  
**Characters:** Harry, Snape  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Summary:** Harry learns the value of precise potion-brewing the _hard_ way. Literally.  
**Warnings:** Un'beated  
**Author's Notes:** The title is supposed to mean 'revenge is sweet', but I could be wrong, since my Latin knowledge is non-existent. Feel free to correct me. Also, this is my first fic featuring Snape and Harry as the sole characters in it, and although it's not exactly Snarry (I repeat: _not_ exactly Snarry), it could be viewed as such, should the reader want to. But I rather you didn't. Because that would mean I wrote Snarry, and I'm in denial about the whole thing... ::giggles hysterically and hides::  
**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, no profit is being made.

Harry tip-toed inside the empty Potions classroom taking off his Invisibility Cloak, and looked around for his parchment. It had fallen on the floor underneath his desk, between the two chairs, and Harry gave a sigh of relief when he saw it.

_Thank Merlin! McGonagall would bite my head off if I didn't turn it in tomorrow. _He knelt on all fours to retrieve his assignment.

"What do you think you're _doing_?"

Harry froze on the spot. The unpleasant voice belonged unmistakably to Snape, and the Potions Master was the last person Harry would prefer to be caught by when sneaking around the school after curfew.

_Fuck! fuckfuckfuckfuck!_

Snape saw the student's rear wobble for a moment, before he made to get up, and then he noticed the unruly hair and the oversized clothing.

_Well, well, well. If it isn't Potter... _He should have guessed.

"Care to explain what you're doing in my class at this hour, Mr. Potter?"

Harry gulped noisily and struck his hand out.

"I... er... dropped my Transfigurations essay earlier today, and it's due in tomorrow, Sir, so I..." he trailed off and waved the parchment in front of Snape for good measure, but it was no use; Snape looked like the cat who got the canary, and his expression gave Harry an extremely forbidding feeling. He knew Snape itched to catch him doing something out of line, so he could deduct thousand of points from Gryffindor and have an excuse to land him in detention.

"And this couldn't wait until tomorrow, Potter? Or, do you think you are so above school rules that you are free to roam around at your own leisure?"

"But Sir, Transfiguration is my first class tomorrow, and then I'd have to interrupt your lesson and-"

Snape's hand came down on the surface of a desk noisily. "Don't presume you can patronize me Potter! That will be 50 points from Gryffindor and the Headmaster will be hearing about this."

Harry hung his head down but his fists were clenched tightly. At least he didn't get detention...

"And I believe detention is in order..." Snape said curling his lip.

So much for that thought.

Harry waited patiently to hear what Snape had to dish out on him. He had a painstaking experience cleaning the Potions cabinet three weeks ago, so at least he would be spared cleaning that. Although, he wasn't much better off scrubbing dirty cauldrons, either.

"You will be making the _Sense Awareness _Potion again to compensate for your abysmal performance in class today. It's one of the most important Potions you will learn this year, and it will most likely appear in your NEWTS. You will be making it by memory of course..."

Harry blinked.

"What, _now_?"

"I don't see a more fitting time, since you are already here. If you wanted to sleep Potter, you should have stayed in your dormitory, no?"

Harry had nothing to say to that, but if he clenched his jaw any tighter, he was sure it was going to get dislocated.

Snape smiled unpleasantly, and gestured to the potions cabinet.

You will find all the ingredients there of course, and you may use the class' equipment, but make sure they are scrubbed spiky clean when you're done."

Harry nodded fuming. Everyone knew the cauldrons and mortars for common use, that students took when they forgot to bring their own, were very old and very dirty. It seemed that he'd be scrubbing cauldrons after all.

Snape made to leave and Harry realized that he wouldn't be getting out of this, so he might as well get on with it.

As he was exiting, Snape turned his head around for a moment.

"I will be checking on your progress, and for Merlin's sake Potter, do not forget the anise seeds again; I don't want my ingredients to be wasted on a murky, useless concoction."

He left, robes billowing in the usual Snape fashion, even though it was a bit surreal, given the fact that it was 2 a.m. at night and they weren't having a Potions lesson.

_Right,_ Harry thought _Sense Awareness Potion_.

...

About an hour later, Harry was mixing the silver-white liquid in his cauldron, trying to achieve that crystal-clear composition Hermione's potion had in their last class, but his just kept getting darker and darker.

On top of it all, Harry wasn't sure he had added the ingredients correctly, because he had always had trouble remembering the proper order. Was it a slice of ginger, followed by an ounce of ground beetles, or the other way around? And he had no idea how many anise seeds he was supposed to add, but Snape said it was important, so he threw in a handful. No surprise why his potion looked nothing like Hermione's. He wondered if Snape was going to make him do it again... he wouldn't put it past the slimy bastard.

The sound of footsteps behind him, made Harry stiffen in anticipation. Snape walked in front of him, examining the potion.

"Well, it certainly looks better than your last attempt, Potter. It seems that you are functioning more effectively in the night-time..."

Harry remained silent, praying that Snape would let him go after he'd clean the equipment. It was really late and his eyes were drooping from sleepiness.

Snape took out a vial and raised one of his sleeves; he scooped the vial down and filled it with some of the potion.

It took Harry a while to realize why. The bastard was going to poison him! There was no way his potion was right, because the Snape wouldn't have that expression of sinister delight on his face.

"Go on Potter, let's find out how well you did."

Harry glared at his Potions Professor and grabbed the vial from his hand.

_Bastard._

He drunk it all in one gulp.

"So how do you feel Potter? Your vision as well as your hearing and sense of smell should be considerably heightened. Maybe if you took your glasses off?"

Harry took off his glasses and blinked. The class around him looked as blurry as everything did when he wasn't wearing them. But he felt really good, like a rush of energy was coursing through his body. Maybe he didn't mess up the potion as badly as he thought.

He put on his glasses again and turned to an expectant Snape.

"I feel all right. My eyesight is the same, but I...

_Oh crap... _

Harry trailed off as the energy wave centered around his groin.

_This isn't happening_...

Snape raised an eyebrow, "Yes, Potter?"

"I... er... it feels fine, but I don't think it worked, Sir..."

He brought one leg in front of the other trying to squash down his building erection, but it was no good; the tantalizing feeling would keep increasing.

"The composition is certainly not perfect, but not so far off either... are you sure you added the allium seeds as I instructed?"

"_Allium_ seeds? You said anise seeds, not allium! Harry was starting to panic now as it was becoming more and more apparent that what he made was certainly not a _Sense Awareness_ potion, since the other students in class didn't seem to have the same reaction when they drunk it, because someone would have noticed if half of the 6th years were walking around with bulging hard-ons.

Snape was now shaking his head "I said _allium_ seeds, Potter, allium. Now if you can't even follow explicit instructions..."

_Well fuck _Harry thought as he tuned Snape out, trying to choke down a moan of both pleasure and frustration. Out of all the embarrassing situations the he had found himself in, that had to be on top; not even Cho's kiss-fiasco could compete against getting turned-on in front of your most hated Professor.

_Oh god, please let Snape not notice, please..._

But Snape was looking at him closely now, and Harry cleared his throat, trying desperately not to wiggle so much, because every movement made his throbbing cock ache from the strain, and if he didn't wank soon, Harry was sure that he'd die from it.

"Pardon, S-Sir? You were saying something?"

Snape gave him a weird look, but didn't investigate further; he moved back and examined the potion again.

"You said you added anise seeds, instead of allium, Potter?"

"Harry nodded, looking miserable.

"Oh, dear..." Snape said all too lightly.

"I believe you may have a problem Potter. You see, anise is a powerful aphrodisiac, and mixed with ginger I'm afraid has an awareness effect entirely of a different kind..."

_That's it_, Harry thought, _somebody kill me now. _Where in the bloody hell was Voldemort when you needed him?

Snape gave a surreptitious look down Harry's robes that didn't go unnoticed by Harry, who tried not to blush furiously, and look cool and nonchalant instead.

If it wasn't for his legs being crossed tightly, as if wanted to pee really badly, and the beads of sweat on his forehead, he might have pulled it off as well.

He had to hand it to Snape though, the git was being uncharacteristically discreet about the whole thing.

"My, my... well since you've obviously learned the value in careful potion brewing, I will not be demanding another potion out of you Potter, and seen as you are in no state to clean up, you will be reporting for detention again tomorrow evening at 8 o' clock exactly."

Harry nodded, looking pained and Snape continued in the same brisk tone:

"There _is _an antidote for your, ah, shall we say 'condition', but since I do not know what you did exactly with the potion, the antidote could act more detrimentally, rather than beneficially. And as I am probably right to assume that you wouldn't prefer to be going to Madame Pomfrey with potion poisoning of _this_ kind, I'm afraid you have to take care of it the traditional way..."

_Scratch that, _Harry thought, _he's trying to humiliate me for all it's worth_. But there wasn't much fury in the thought, since Harry was trying to remain as calm as possible, lest he poke Snape in the eye with his bloody untamable erection.

He gave a weak nod and Snape gestured him to leave. Harry had no idea how he made the full five steps to the door, managing to walk semi-respectfully, but he did, and he was ready to flee in the hallway when Snape said in a silky smooth voice;

"Oh, and Potter? That would be a cold shower. For the sake of my mental health."

Harry run and run and didn't stop until he reached the common room.

_Right _he thought, _icy cold shower first, ask Ron for an Obliviate spell later_.

_The End_


End file.
